Mount Wellington
Our third and fourth days were in Hobart and nearby. I first destination was Mount Wellington which was practical in the backyard of Hobart City. It took us about 1 hour and 15min to drive from Port Arthur to Hobart and another 25 min to Mount Wellington summit.
Port Arthur to Hobart to Mount Wellington
On the way to Mount Wellington summit there were two lower carparks, there we saw many visitors parked their cars to trek the many trails criss-crossing Mount Wellington, some going up and some going down. We were a bit of “under the weather”, probably caught a flu on the plane, so all our “trekking plans” for Mount Wellington were shelved.
Post Master General Tower, Mount
We drove directly to “Wellington Pinnacle Carpark” at the summit. From the carpark we saw two prominent features, a tall 130 metre tall Post Master General Tower and much shorter triangle steel structure with a round dish mounted at its apex.
The Post Master General Tower looked tall and majestic but seemed rather out of place and unsuited for such a beautiful natural environment. This broadcasting tower was built in 1995.
Beside the Post Master General Tower was a trek that went not sure to where. As far as we could see it looked pretty level and doable. We trekked as far as we could before the track went downhill. The terrain ahead was pretty rugged, the hill ahead was made up of “millions” of vertical column spikes crowding together.
On the track beside Post Master General Tower
At the summit was a glass observation shelter. This shelter was probably most useful when the weather turned cold and windy but on a day like “today” when the temperature was beautifully cool most visitors stayed on the open deck to admire the breathtaking scenery ahead.
Pinnacle Shelter and Observation
Hobart city certainly looked different from the top. From the deck we could see all to way to EagleHawk Neck to Port Arthur and beyond. Wow! The view was amazingly arresting and definitely worth the effort to come up to Mount Wellington.
View from Mount Wellington
We had a great time enjoying the view from the outdoor deck and and also from the indoor shelter. It was lovely to take our time, to enjoy the clear weather and the view. It would have been better if the shelter was a cafe where we could enjoy a cafe latte and cake over the view, then we would certainly wait till sunset. Unfortunately sunset was 6 hours away.
Lovely view from Mount Wellington
Bruny Island
On our last day in Hobart we made our way to Bruny Island. It was a gloomy day and we knew that it might be a wasted trip if the mist/flog spoilt our day. Bruny Island was a very famous “must see” destination so we supposed seeing “something” was better than “nothing”. The drive from Hobart to Kettering Ferry Terminal took only 40 minutes for 38 km.
Route from Hobart to Kettering Ferry Terminal
We set out just after 9am after we checked out of our Airbnb. The ferry frequency to Bruny Island was every 20 minutes the ferry operation started at about 6 am and ending at 7 pm daily. After we bought our ferry ticket (AUD46 for a car and its passengers) we did not immediately join the car queue for the ferry instead we went to Bruny Island Gateway Cafe for our breakfast.
Kettering Ferry Terminal
We had a lovely breakfast at the cafe. Hot cafe latte and cocoa were great for a cool and foggy day. We were taking our time eating breakfast hoping for the weather to turn nicer, unfortunately it was not getting better.
Bruny Island Gateway Cafe
The ferry ride to Bruny Island was quick and smooth. The trip took about 20 minutes. We walked up from the car deck to the passenger deck. There was not many people on the upper deck as most stayed in their cars.
On the ferry to Bruny Island
When we reached Bruny Island it was drizzling so we drove directly to the most famous sight on Bruny Island, The Neck. There was a carpark directly at the bottom of the staircase up to the Neck Lookout. Checking the weather forecast we knew that the rain would not stop anytime soon so we put on our rainproof wear, took out our umbrellas and walked up the long staircase leading to the summit at the “Neck”
The Neck Game Reserve Lookout
The view at the “Neck” lookout was awesome even on a wet foggy day.nTwo bodies of water divided by a thin long curvy stretch of land. We wondered if this “neck” would disappear one day as global warming would cause the sea level to rise surely flood all low lying ground!
The Neck, Bruny Island
After the “Neck” we were not sure where to go next. All our planned itinerary items for Bruny Island were not suitable for a wet day. We drove further inward/south to Bruny Island Adventure Bay till we reached Bruny Island Cruises Center.
Bruny Island Cruise Center and Restaurant
At the center there was no cruise going out due to the foggy weather. On a good day there were cruises going out at 10am, 11am and 1.30pm. The cruise duration was 3 hr and costed AUD$155 per adult. From the brochures at the center we saw that these cruises visited some very unique stunning landscapes on Bruny Island. Too bad that we had to miss it!!
At the Cruise center there was a track that lead out to Flute Cape, the walk was 2 km one way. Unfortunately that track was closed due to the poor weather.
Jetty at Bruny Island near Bruny Cruise Center
We should have visited Bruny Island the day before when the weather was fine. Unfortunately we were feeling dull and lethargic so we spent the entire day relaxing on the veranda of our Airbnb enjoying the hill top view.
Hobart – Victory Dock
We went to Hobart habour for Tasmania award winning ice cream. We were worried about parking but was so happy to find parking directly at the Dock. It was paid parking. We downloaded EasyPark app on our mobile phone and started the parking time. EasyPark would charge at end of parking.
At the dock were several floating hut/cabin structures anchored by the walkway. One of them was our target!
Victory Dock
At the dock, there was already a long queue at the door of Dan Diemens land Creamery. Beside the door was a list of award winning icecream favours and the year of the awards. There were 20+ favours and we could not decide on which to get!
Van Diemens Land Creamery
After 20 minutes in the queue we finally reached the front. I chosed my favourite favour which was always vanilla beans and Yat Thong’s got his chocolate hazelnut. We ordered our icecream in cones and it costed AUD$8 each. Yummy, yummy… we certainly loved the creamy texture and the crispy crunch waffle cone.
Van Diemens Land Creamery
hOBART – mOUNT nELSON
Mount Nelson was only 8 km from Hobart City Center. It was a quick short drive from our stay in Hobart. We went near sundown as we wanted to view the city from Mount Nelson during sunset.
We were pretty surprise that the summit of Mount Nelson was not high at all. It should rename Nelson Hill!!!
Mount Nelson
Unlike Mount Wellington which was packed with visitors Mount Nelson was deserted. We were the only two people there. It felt kind of weird. But since we were there we made the effort to walk the track loop that brought us to several viewpoints. The views were not as spectacular as those seen from Mount Wellington neverthless they were still pretty scenic, with lovely shades of grey, blue, orange, red and green.
Beautiful Sights from Mount Nelson
On the way back to our accommodation at about 8 pm we were stopped for alcohol testing. Surprising the stop was not near some pub/eatery but on the road in a residential areas. “Catch them before they reach home?”
Alcohol Level Test
Hobart – Salamanca Market
Salamanca Market was opened only on Saturday from 8.30 am to 3 pm. We easily found paid parking along the road side of Davey Street and walked a short distance to the market. On the way we past the most amazing flora gateway. The gateway lead into a park and the trellis of the gateway was full of wisteria blooms. The many strings purple flowers cascading down and over the arch were amazingly beautiful, it reminded us of our Wisteria Viewing trip in Japan several years ago.
We visited Salamanca Market near its closing time and found the place very “deserted”. Most stores had already packed up early because it was a wet day. The crowd was thin so we supposed most vendors felt that there was no point holding the “fort” till official end time.
Salamanca Market
We stopped by a nice looking cafe “Banjo” near the market and had our coffee break. The tart and pie tasted just “so so”, nothing fantastic.
Coffee Break at Salamanca Market
Our Stay in Hobart
We rented an Airbnb whole place in Hobart. It was high up on the hill overlooking the city and had an amazing view. We picked the place because of the great review on its view. The cost per night was AUD$290 for two nights.
Our AirBnB in Hobart
It was a lovely self contained lodging. The big room has a queen size bed, two arm chairs, TV, a kitchenette and a small dining table for two. The toilet was down a “L” shape corridor decorated with many pots of plant with glass windows looking out to an amazing view.
Our Airbnb in Hobart
Our unit was just below the owner’s unit. It had a long veranda that connected to a glassed up corridor that lead to our sleeping/living/cooking space and our private toilet. The view was fantastic! An additional bonus of this Airbnb was the wild furry creatures that came into the lower garden after the sun set. These wallabies were so close to us!
View from an AirBnB at Pottery Road